The V Files: Strange Start to Summer
by TreasureHunterGirl
Summary: Takes place after season 3 of Veronica Mars. Veronica finds herself working on the X Files for her summer internship at the F.B.I. Tiny bit of LoVe. Complete. Please R&R.
1. FBI's Most Unwanted

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

Set: Year 2007. Post series Veronica Mars and about season 3 of The X Files.

Characters: Veronica Mars, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

**Chapter 1: F.B.I.'s Most Unwanted.**

Veronica Mars stood out the front of the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She took a deep breath as she took a long look at the building that she had dreamed of entering for years. The moment had finally come and she was brimming with excitement.

"Good luck," Logan said, letting her hand go.

She looked up into his face and smiled. Her expression faltered.

"I'll miss you," she replied.

He smiled and kissed her. They had only just gotten back together and now she would be away for 12 weeks. They knew that they'd see each other in that time but not nearly as much as they would've liked. Logan knew how much this internship meant to Veronica so he had insisted that she take the opportunity despite her slight hesitation.

"I'll see you soon." They shared one last gaze and Veronica turned, taking her first step towards achieving her ultimate dream.

Logan stood staring after her, long after she had disappeared through the door.

* * *

"I don't have time for this!" protested Special Agent Tiffany Beedon. "We're in the middle of a huge case right now; the last thing we need is some clueless intern getting in our way."

"Well what do you suggest we do?" replied Special Agent Mark O'Reilly, through gritted teeth.

Veronica stood, uncomfortably, as the two agents argued quietly with each other. Their loud whispers reached her on the other side of the room.

_So this is what it's going to be like_, she thought to herself. She was by no means expecting to be put on a case but she had expected to at least be wanted in some degree, given the difficulty in getting her application accepted.

"Let's put her somewhere out of the way, you know where I mean," said Beedon, smiling. It was a smile that no one should have had to witness.

Veronica tuned back in and pictured herself, filing mountains of uninteresting paperwork and going on the frequent coffee run. This was the F.B.I. she knew that they wouldn't allow her to get her hands on anything good.

"Come with me," said O'Reilly, pushing past her.

She followed him, as ordered, but didn't let this rudeness and rejection dampen her spirits just yet. That was at least until they got off the elevator and she realised that she had been taken to…

_The basement! _Veronica thought, angrily. This could not be true. Were her dreams being shattered already?

O'Reilly exited the elevator and kept walking down the corridor, he stopped in front of a door with a sign on it.

"Hurry up, I don't have all day!" he said irritably, looking at his watch.

As Veronica approached the door she looked up and read the sign; _Special Agent Fox Mulder_. She frowned with curiosity as O'Reilly reached out and knocked on the door.


	2. Special Agents Mulder and Scully

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 2: Special Agents Mulder and Scully**

After a minutes wait the door opened. At first Veronica could not see who had opened it but then a man stepped into view. He was tall and wore a navy blue suit. _Cute, _Veronica noted. He was smiling when he first opened the door but his expression faltered into disappointment.

Veronica accidently let out a loud sigh as she realised that she was no more welcome here than she had been upstairs. The man's gaze fell to her and she realised that he had only just noticed her. The disappointment had been due to the man who had brought her here.

_Well that's understandable_, she thought to herself.

He looked back to O'Reilly and smiled sarcastically, "O'Reilly! What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he asked.

"Save it Mulder," O'Reilly spat back. "I'm just here to drop off your intern; this is...what's your name again?"

"Veronica Mars," Veronica replied holding out her hand to the agent in the doorway.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Fox Mulder," he said as he reached out and shook her hand.

Veronica smiled at Agent Mulder.

"Well I'll leave you to it," O'Reilly said as he forced a reluctant smile.

Without another glance at either of them he turned on his heel and marched off, back towards the elevator. As he left, a woman with red hair was approaching them down the corridor.

"Agent Scully," O'Reilly said stiffly without pausing as they passed.

She nodded back and watched him pass, then looked up to where Mulder and Veronica still stood in the corridor.

"Hey Scully!" called Mulder cheerfully as she got closer.

"Hi Mulder," she returned as she looked curiously at Veronica.

"Oh, this is Veronica Mars, our new intern," said Mulder with a playful look at Scully.

Scully raised her eyebrows at him but extended her arm and shook Veronica's hand; "Dana Scully. Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Veronica smiled.

"You're both just in time!" said Mulder excitedly as he led the way into his office.

Scully followed and started emptying the contents of her brief case onto the desk while Mulder rifled through an untidy pile of papers.

Veronica stepped over the threshold and took in the room's strange appearance. It wasn't very big and had no windows or at least it appeared to have no windows. The small size was not helped by the amount of boxes, files and papers strewn across it, some piles almost reaching the roof. There were filing cabinets but it looked as though the work of the two agents had long since exceeded the cabinets' capacity. An assortment of photos, sketches, newspaper clippings and maps lined the walls that weren't obscured by the piles of paperwork. A poster caught Veronica's eye; it was a picture of a flying saucer above some trees and had the words _I Want To Believe_ written across the bottom. Just as she began to try to figure out where she was, Agent Mulder interrupted her thoughts.

"Here it is!" he exclaimed as he held up a file triumphantly.

"What've you got this time Mulder?" Scully asked.

"You'll like this one Scully," he grinned as he sorted through the file contents. "Suspicious deaths, three bodies so far, all within a twenty five mile radius of each other, all exactly one month apart," he listed off the data.

"Serial killer?" Scully enquired.

"Murder...maybe," Mulder mumbled, considering the possibly while he still rifled through the file.

"Cause of death?" Scully continued.

"Drowning," Mulder replied.

Veronica looked on in amazement. Could she really be being briefed on the details of a serial death investigation not half a day into her internship?

"Doesn't sound like an X file to me Mulder, or murder for that matter. What else is there?" Scully asked suspiciously.

"I thought you'd never ask Scully," Mulder smiled. "All three victims were found in their houses. No sign of water anywhere... except for in their lungs."

_X File? Drowning with no water?_ Veronica listened intently to the conversation between the two agents.

Scully looked at Mulder for a moment. "Where exactly in their houses were they found?" she asked.

"Living room," Mulder threw her a photo that Veronica just managed to catch a glimpse of; showing a man about in his late twenties, early thirties lying on the floor of an indoor room.

"Bedroom," Mulder threw another photo at Scully who caught it and turned it to the light comparing it to the first. "And office." He threw the final photograph on top of the two Scully had been examining.

"Any connection between the victims?" Scully asked.

"I don't know yet, but I've ordered us a car so we can get going soon, the last body was discovered almost a month ago," Mulder replied as he busied himself with the file once again.

"I've been in a meeting all morning Mulder, I'm going to have to grab some lunch first," Scully replied.

Mulder nodded and looked at his watch. "Okay."

"Veronica do you want to come and get a bite to eat?" Scully asked looking at the third person in the room for the first time since they'd entered.

"Sure," replied Veronica as Scully lead the way out of the tiny basement office. As Veronica reached the door she turned around to see Mulder sitting at his desk reading the file. "Are you coming Agent Mulder?"

"No thanks, I'm all set," he replied holding up a packet of sunflower seeds and smiling. "I've got something I need to do before we leave, I'll meet you at the car."

* * *

Agent Dana Scully and Veronica Mars walked into the F.B.I. lunch hall. Scully had spent the trip from the basement informing Veronica about the X Files and the work of Mulder and herself.

"Wow, I had no idea," Veronica replied, stunned by the revelation.

"Not many do, much to Mulder's dismay." Scully replied, smiling slightly.

"Hey Agent Scully, where's Spooky? He hasn't been abducted has he? I hope he's ok," laughed a male agent, interrupting their conversation.

"Agent Mulder is fine, thank you," responded Scully, not sharing the humour.

Veronica frowned slightly at the comment made by the male agent who was still chuckling with a few fellow agents. She looked over at Scully who was looking relaxed again and striding towards the counter. She glanced back at the agents who were still making jokes. Veronica couldn't help but be reminded of her high school days and wondered if there was something else that had stopped Agent Mulder from accompanying them to lunch.


	3. Autopsy

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 3: Autopsy**

The two agents and Veronica had arrived at their destination and booked into a motel. By this time it was almost three o'clock but Agent Mulder wanted to get started straight away so here they were, Agent Mulder and Veronica looking on as Agent Scully performed an autopsy on one of the bodies.

"What've you got Scully?" asked Mulder.

"Nothing more then what was found in the first autopsy," replied Scully as she turned from the body and removed her latex gloves.

_Don't hurl now Veronica. This is part of the job. _Veronica willed herself to gain control but she couldn't help the growing queasiness in her stomach or the lightness in her head.

"Mulder!" Scully exclaimed as she looked at Veronica's pale face.

"What?" Mulder exclaimed back.

"Look at Veronica, she's about to throw up," Scully pointed out as she helped Veronica into a chair. Her legs were a lot more wobbly than she'd thought.

"Oh! Sorry," Mulder apologised guiltily. "I didn't realise."

"I'm okay," Veronica mumbled. "I think I just need some fresh air."

"Of course," Scully replied. "Mulder help Veronica outside, I'll finish up in here."

Mulder lead Veronica outside and sat her down on a nearby bench. "Sorry about that, I forgot that you're probably not used to that kind of thing." He sat down next to her.

"I'll be fine," she said shakily. _Yeah right, Veronica, you just keep telling yourself that._

"Although I did expect that you may have seen similar things before," he added.

Veronica looked up at him. _What do you know special agent?_

"I read your file," he admitted.

Veronica smiled. _So this is how it feels to have someone else read your file_. "I have a file?" she asked.

"Yeah, a pretty interesting read actually," he replied. He paused for a moment before continuing. "The bureau needs more people like you Veronica, people who want to find the truth and reveal it, rather than hide it..."

"How are you feeling now?" Scully called as she approached them.

_Awful. _"Great," Veronica called back standing up and wobbling.

"Let me have a look at you," Scully said steadying her. "You're still a bit pale."

"I'll be fine," Veronica repeated.

Scully watched Veronica for a moment before turning to Mulder. "I did find something that wasn't noted in the original autopsy notes."

"What?" Mulder asked excitedly.

"The water in the victim's lungs," Scully went on. "It was salt water."


	4. Earning Your Keep

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 4: Earning Your Keep**

The car came to smooth halt in the street across the road from an ordinary house in a seemingly average suburban street.

"Number fourteen Picket Drive, home of Marcy South and her late husband Brett," Mulder announced as he killed the engine. He opened his door and got out of the car. Scully and Veronica followed.

"Visitors." Scully suggested as they crossed the street, noticing two cars parked out the front of the house in question.

Mulder knocked on the door as the three of them waited on the front veranda. Veronica strained her ears and Scully raised her eyebrows as they heard hushed voices and hurried footsteps. A door slammed shut. A moment later a woman opened the door. She was quite tall, towering over both Scully and Veronica and even achieving an even eye level with Mulder. Her light brown hair hung messily around her face and she appeared to have been crying quite recently.

"Hello. We're agents Mulder and Scully, with the F.B.I." Mulder informed her, holding up his badge as Scully did the same. "I hope we haven't caught you at a bad time."

"We understand that you have just lost your husband but we just have a couple of questions for you." Scully added before Marcy could respond.

She eyed them for a moment before her gaze settled on Veronica.

"Oh, so sorry, this is Special Agent Mars," Mulder quickly explained. "She's new to our team."

_Special Agent Mars, I like the sound of that. _Veronica couldn't help but smile.

"Come in," Marcy said finally, unable to see a way out of inviting them into her home.

They were led into the living room. Marcy sat down on a chair and invited them to do the same.

"Is this where you found him?" Scully enquired gently.

"Yes," replied Marcy, her eyes glistening. "Just over there by the mantle." She pointed to an empty fireplace with a mantelpiece above.

Mulder stood and approached the area as Scully continued to question Marcy.

"What time did you find him, Mrs South?" she asked.

"It was about 10:30pm, I think, I'm couldn't tell you an exact time," Marcy glanced uneasily at Mulder as she said this before adding. "I have already told this to the police."

"We're nearly finished, when was the last time you saw him before you found him?" Scully continued.

"Only a few minutes. We had gone to bed and he remembered that he'd left something downstairs, so he got up to go and get it. I heard a muffled thud and I came down to see what had happened." At this point Marcy burst into tears, sobbing loudly. "I...I...came... into the..."

"Take your time, Mrs South," Scully soothed as she patted her on the back. Veronica noticed Mulder quickly duck out of the room.

Marcy sobbed lightly for another minute and then cleared her throat. Mulder slid silently back into the room and returned to where Scully and Veronica sat with Marcy.

"I came into the living room and saw him lying there. I couldn't feel a pulse and I noticed water coming out of his mouth...then I called 911. They wouldn't have taken five minutes to get here but it was too late..." At this she burst into tears again. Scully continued to comfort her.

Veronica stood up and approached the mantelpiece. She crouched down to take a closer look at the carpet. It appeared normal.

"Time to go Agent Mars," Mulder called. Veronica looked up and saw that Mulder and Scully were approaching the front door. She took one last look at the floor and got up to follow them.

"You think she's lying?" Mulder asked Scully as they crossed the road and got back into the car.

"Maybe," Scully replied. "I wonder who else was in the house."

Veronica was in the back seat getting her laptop out of her bag. "I know a way we can find out," she said lifting the screen.

Mulder and Scully both turned in their seats to look at her. They both frowned slightly wondering what their intern had to say.

Veronica finished clicking a few buttons and then turned the computer around to face the other two. "Let's listen."

Mulder and Scully looked at Veronica in amazement as a familiar voice came out of the speakers.

"...should have told them." Marcy was saying.

"Why? What would that achieve?" a male voice said angrily. "It'll just get us into more trouble."

"Brett is dead!"

"There's nothing we can do about that now."

"He was my husband! Those agents might be able to help!"

"He was my friend too but I don't think telling the F.B.I. is going to help anyone," the male voice tried to soften but he still sounded strained, desperate to convince Marcy not to tell. "This is even way over their heads."

"What do you think, Ed?"

"I don't know," a third voice entered the conversation. "Maybe Stan has a point."

"I can't believe this," Marcy sighed. She sounded as though she was on the verge of tears again.

"Look, I'll take care of it Marce, you and Ed just stay put, I'm going over to Anne's now to see if she can tell me anymore," Stan said. "I'll let you know if I can make any sense of all this."

A moment later a man exited the house. He was not very tall but had a broad chest and shoulders. He looked around him as he approached the car.

"Get down," Mulder said urgently as he slid down in his seat. Scully and Veronica did the same.

Stan got into his car and pulled out onto the street.

"What do you say to finding out a bit more about Miss Anne?" said Veronica leaning forward in between Mulder and Scully's seats.

"I say that's a great idea Mars," returned Mulder as he turned the key starting the engine.

Scully smiled. "I don't think Agent O'Reilly knows what he did in passing you onto us Veronica but I'll have to thank him for it next time I see him."


	5. Assigned

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 5: Assigned**

They followed Stan to a house about five blocks away where he exited his vehicle and entered through the front door being ushered into the house by a small woman with short, curly blonde hair and a very anxious expression.

"Thirty seven Wheeler Street," Scully stated as their own vehicle came to a stop. "The home of Anne Connor; wife of the late Timothy Connor. What a coincidence."

"One of the other victims?" Veronica asked.

"Yes, exactly. Now I'm really curious to find out who this Stan character is and why he is visiting two of our victim's wives on the same day within the same hour."

"Let's go then," suggested Mulder and they all got out of the car and headed towards the house.

Mulder knocked on the door. The woman they had just seen greet Stan answered the door.

"Anne Connor?" Scully asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes." Anne replied quietly. "May I help you?"

Scully held up her badge. "We're with the F.B.I., we just have a few questions for you in regards to your husband's death."

"Of course, come in," she stood aside as the three of them entered the house. Again they were invited to take a seat in the living room.

"May we see the place that you found the body," Mulder asked before Scully could get started on her questions.

Anne quickly glanced toward the hallway and back at Mulder. "It was in the bedroom, it's messy..." she began weakly.

"That's not a problem, I can show myself if you'd rather not go in there," Mulder offered. "Is it this way?" He began down the hall.

Anne stood quickly and raced in front of Mulder. Her eyes were wide with fear. "I can show you to the bedroom, I don't mind," she stated loudly.

"Thank you," Mulder replied a he strode after her. Scully and Veronica followed them.

"What was that noise?" asked Scully as they drew closer to the door. In fact, she had not heard anything at all.

"Noise?" squeaked Anne, spinning around, her eyes darting around the house.

"I thought I heard something," Scully pressed.

"I heard nothing," Anne replied before quickly adding. "This is the room here." She grasped the handle for a moment before pushing the door open.

Again they found nothing out of the ordinary. No sign of Stan either. When they left the house ten minutes later his car had disappeared.

"She seemed scared," said Scully thoughtfully. "And not of us, or Stan, I don't think. Did you see her tense up when I mentioned the noise? She seemed terrified."

"What did you hear Scully?" Mulder wondered.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how she would react."

"I noticed something that I think is worth looking into," Mulder stated. "I think we need to split up for a bit."

"What is it Mulder?" asked Scully.

"In Marcy's hallway she had a photo hanging on the wall. It was of a graduating class. I definitely recognised Brett South and I thought that one of the other class members in it may have been Timothy Connor. Just now in his bedroom I noticed the same photo which confirmed my suspicions. My bet is that we'll find more familiar faces in that photo."

"I guess that answers your question about the connection between the victims, Agent Scully," said Veronica.

"So here's what I think we should do," Mulder continued. "Scully, can you go onto the next victim's house and question Deborah Peat's boyfriend? Veronica, you'll need to go to the local high school and see if you can get a hold of the yearbook, it's probably about fourteen years ago. I'm going to see if I can find out where Stan got to and find out what else he's been up to. I'll drop you both off and we'll regroup at the motel in a couple of hours."

Scully and Veronica both nodded although Veronica wasn't so sure that she wanted to be going back to high school just yet.


	6. The Mystery of Mulder

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 6: The Mystery of Mulder**

Veronica and Scully had been dropped off by Mulder together as their destinations weren't very far apart. They walked beside one another on the common route.

Veronica watched her companion for a moment and then, unable to control herself, asked; "Agent Scully?"

"Yes," she looked at her.

"I," she paused, _what Veronica? You've come this far._ "I don't want to be rude but there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"What is it, Veronica?"

"When we went to lunch today, there was something that those agents called Mulder," she said awkwardly.

Scully simply smiled. "Spooky Mulder?" she asked.

"Yeah, I was just wondering what they meant by that?"

"Agent Mulder has a bit of a reputation at the bureau," Scully explained. "But he wasn't always considered a joke. Don't be fooled by the way those agents back in Washington behaved, Mulder is a brilliant agent."

"What happened?" Veronica asked.

"Agent Mulder was once one of the best criminal profilers in the F.B.I. He was responsible for solving some of the toughest cases that came through his department; cases that had the best in the business completely baffled. Then, he found the X Files, and devoted all his efforts to them. He's been there ever since, and has lost the respect he rightfully earned."

Veronica listened intently to Scully's story. "But why? Why did he take such an interest in the X Files and stick by them when they've ruined his reputation, everything he worked for?"

"I don't think I'm really the person that should be telling you that, Veronica, but I will tell you that Mulder had his reasons, and still does." At this Scully turned the corner. "I'll see you back at the motel."

Veronica watched her leave then turned and headed towards the high school. _Why, Veronica? _She asked herself. _Why did you do the same thing when you had the choice of either keeping your popularity, friends and reputation or standing by your father who had accused your best friend's father of her murder? Why did you choose alienation over acceptance?_


	7. Coincidental Friendship?

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 7: Coincidental Friendship?**

"Hi, my name's Michelle Taylor. I'm on the yearbook committee and we want to do a bit of a vintage look this year. Anyway, I was wondering if I could get a couple of old yearbooks to see how it was done, say about fifty years ago?" Veronica stood at the library desk of the local high school and hoped that the school was big enough that the stern looking librarian would not realise that she was not a student.

"Oh, I can find them for you but it may take me a while." _Bingo! _"Books that old are usually kept out the back. I'll be back as quickly as I can be," the woman replied pleasantly, taking Veronica by surprise.

_Take as long as you like._ "That's fine, I can wait." Veronica smiled back, eyeing the collection of much more recent yearbooks in the glass display behind the desk.

The librarian fumbled with some keys before making her way into the room behind her desk. As soon as the door had closed behind her Veronica ran around the other side of the desk. She took only seconds to pick the lock and have the glass display case open. She grabbed the book that was twelve years previous and flicked through it. It was the wrong one, she stuffed it back in and grabbed the next one. Wrong again. _Third time lucky? _This time she grabbed the one from fourteen years ago and flicked through the pages. A familiar face passed her in the pages and she quickly flicked back to it. _Brett South. Gotcha!_ Veronica fumbled with the book and finally stuffed it into her bag before pulling the sliding glass door of the display case back into place. She swiftly returned to the other side of the desk just as the librarian returned with a couple of books.

"Here we go," she said holding them out.

"Thank you so much," replied Veronica with feigned enthusiasm. She turned to leave.

"You'll have to stay here with them," the librarian added. "We don't allow yearbooks to be taken from the library."

"Oh, of course," replied Veronica smiling. She then moved to a desk at the far side of the library, out of sight and pushing the books she'd just been given aside she pulled the one from her bag and opened it. _Alright Brett South let's see what your fellow classmates had to say about you. Most likely to become president of the United States? Most likely to become a nuclear physicist? Or most likely to drown suspiciously with no explanation... and no water?_ Veronica scanned the page on the student in question. He had nothing out of the ordinary; very average. Veronica sighed and flicked to the page with everyone's picture. Sure enough there was a younger looking Timothy Connor smiling back at her. She also noticed a familiar looking woman. _Deborah Peat, the third victim. _She flicked through the book to a page with photos of groups of friends. There was a photo that had eight people in it, three of which were the victims of the unexplained drownings. Veronica's eyes flicked to the caption. _Timothy Connor, Anne Hanting, Brittany Simmons , Frederick Redding, Deborah Peat, Stanley Clifford, Brett South and Edward Tallow._ Veronica looked up suddenly. Could this be the Anne, Stan and Ed that she listened to arguing about Brett's death earlier that afternoon? _I have to get this to Mulder and Scully_, she thought, quickly packing the book into her bag as she checked that the librarian wasn't watching.

"They were very helpful, I've got loads of ideas now," Veronica smiled as she handed the books back and hastily left the library.


	8. A Common Truth

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 8: A Common Truth**

Mulder was already back at the motel when Veronica arrived. He had had no luck in tracking down Stan, despite being able to find out where he both lived and worked. Scully had not arrived yet.

Veronica knocked on Mulder's room door and he answered immediately, letting her in.

"What did you find?" Mulder asked as he shut the door.

"Something," Veronica replied. "I'm not sure exactly what yet but it's definitely something."

They sat down at the small table and Veronica pulled the 'borrowed' yearbook from her bag. She put it on the table and opened to the page with the group photo.

"There," she pointed to the photo. "That's Timothy and Brett, and wasn't the third victim's name Deborah Peat?"

"Yes," said Mulder slowly as he examined the photo closely. "That looks like Anne Connor." He pointed to the girl with blonde hair next to Timothy. "Her name must have been Hanting before she got married."

"I thought that may have been her, she's changed a lot," Veronica scrutinized the photo a little longer. "That must be Stan, and I'm guessing that this is the same Ed that we heard talking to Marcy and Stan."

"I'd say that's a fairly accurate guess," Mulder replied. "I think there's a lot more going on here than anyone suspected, Veronica. This connection between the victims is no coincidence." He sighed and closed his eyes to think.

Veronica watched him a moment. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"What exactly did Scully tell you about the X Files?" Mulder enquired.

"Just that you investigate unexplained phenomenon and unusual cases," replied Veronica, a little taken aback by the question.

"Of course," he smiled. "She didn't tell you what we really investigate, most likely because she has a hard time believing any of it herself, with her scientific mind and all."

Veronica simply stared at him. _Is this what Agent Scully couldn't tell me?_

"The things we've seen, the things I've witnessed and experienced," he went on. "Are beyond the realms of normal thinking, but that doesn't mean that they lack validity." He paused a moment, considering something and then asked; "Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials, Veronica Mars?"

"What?" Veronica couldn't think of anything else to say. For one of the only times in her life she didn't have anything to say. This couldn't be a joke; there was something in his eyes that told her he was telling the truth.

"Ghosts? Spirits? Demons?" he continued.

Veronica still had nothing to answer him with.

"I've seen them, felt their presence, Veronica," Mulder was talking louder now. "Bigfoot, lake monsters, chupacabra, aliens, UFO's. They're all real."

"I believe you," Veronica whispered, hardly able to believe what she saying.

"I lost someone too," Mulder said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Veronica finally asked.

"My sister, Samantha," he said, not really answering her question. "She was taken from me, Veronica. That's why I work on the X Files. My sister was abducted when we were only kids; that's why I'm searching for the truth, so it can lead me to Samantha."

"Lilly," Veronica whispered tears wetting her eyes.

Mulder nodded and Veronica remembered why she herself started working the P.I. business with her father, to find the truth, to find Lilly's killer.

"The truth is out there, Veronica, we just have to find it," Mulder said.

At that moment there was a knock on the door causing both Veronica and Mulder to jump.

"It's me, Mulder," came Scully's familiar voice.

Mulder got up and crossed the room to let Scully in as Veronica turned her back on the door to wipe the tears from her face that she hadn't even noticed falling from her eyes. It appeared that Agent Mulder and Veronica had more in common than either of them could ever have suspected.


	9. Unexpected Company

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 9: Unexpected Company**

Scully had found out little more about the nature of the unusual deaths after her visit with Deborah Peat's boyfriend.

"He was a lot more open and less edgy than the other two, but from what he told me I'd say that the others were telling the truth," Scully reported to Mulder and Veronica. "All of their stories are the same. None of the victims could have been drowned somewhere else and then their bodies moved into the houses because they were all seen alive not ten minutes before their deaths."

"There must be something we are missing," Mulder said, more to himself than anyone else.

They all sat in Mulder's motel room for a while, thinking.

"There isn't much more we can do tonight, maybe we should call it a day and have a good night's sleep. In the morning we'll all be able to think better," Scully suggested with no objections from the others.

* * *

The next morning they were all up bright and early.

"We'll have to get started straight away or we could have another death to investigate," Mulder was saying.

"Why? What did you find out?" questioned Scully as she and Veronica looked expectantly at Mulder.

"Nothing new but if the pattern of the last three deaths is anything to go by, one of these people will be dead by tomorrow," Mulder held up a copy of the photo of the eight classmates. "Deborah Peat died on March fifth, Timothy Connor on April fifth and Brett South on May fifth, all at around 10:30pm, today is June fifth."

"Right. Where were you thinking of starting?" Scully asked. "Because to tell you the truth Mulder, I have no idea where to go with this one."

"I was thinking we could pay Marcy another visit. She seemed like she wanted to tell us something and if we can get a minute with her alone maybe we can find out what is going on," Mulder suggested.

"Sounds like a good plan, let's get going," Scully gathered her things and made her way to the door of the room.

The three of them got into the car and headed straight for Marcy South's house, hoping to arrive before she received any visitors.

"Damn! Looks like Ed is already here," said Scully noticing the same vehicle still parked out the front of the house.

They approached the house anyway and knocked on the door. Ed answered the door, obviously not expecting to see the F.B.I. agents again.

"Hello Mr Tallow," said Scully.

"How...what...?" he stuttered.

"Yes, we know who you are," Mulder added in a slightly threatening tone. "We were actually hoping to speak to you as well as Mrs South."

"Who is it Ed?" called Marcy as she approached the door, her expression became worried when she saw Mulder, Scully and Veronica standing at her door again.

"We're here to ask you a few more questions," explained Scully. "Ed as well."

The two people in the house shared an anxious gaze before allowing them in.

"I don't wish to alarm you Mr Tallow, but we think that you could be in danger," Scully got right to the point.

"Danger? From who?" Ed asked fretfully.

"Funny you should ask who rather than what," observed Mulder. "Did you already have an idea?"

"I...no..." Ed was stuttering again, he glanced at Marcy.

"If there's something you know, you need to tell us," Scully pressed. "We're just here to help."

Marcy shot a nervous look at Ed before looking at Scully.

"There is something that I didn't tell you," she said quietly.

"Marcy," Ed breathed, looking at her.

"I won't keep quiet any longer, Ed, it could be you next," she said giving him an apologetic look.

"Please go on Marcy," said Scully leaning in. Veronica and Mulder both leaned in too.

"I wasn't entirely honest with you," Marcy continued as Ed held his head in his hands and muttered incoherently. "When I found Brett, I saw something."

Scully, Mulder and Veronica quickly glanced at each other before all leaning in even closer.

"It was someone, in the room, they dashed out just as I screamed. It was quite dark and I didn't get a close look at their face but someone was definitely here when Brett died," she looked at them meaningfully.

_What was that? Is there a rat in the house?_ Veronica turned her head in the direction of a noise that had come from the hallway. She looked to see if Mulder or Scully had heard it; they were both still listening intently to Marcy. She walked towards the door and poked her head out into the next room.

"Hey!" she called out as see spotted a woman sneaking along the wall. The woman turned and looked at Veronica. "Anne?"

Anne Connor tried to make a break for it heading towards the back door. Veronica started to chase her through the house.

"Wait! Anne! Stop!" she called as she followed the fleeing woman. "We're here to help!"

Anne tripped on a piece of furniture and came crashing down. Veronica caught up just in time to dive on top of her and prevent her for running again.

"Please, let me go," Anne sobbed as she tried weakly to escape.

By this time the other four had followed and arrived in the kitchen where the two wrestled on the floor.

"Anne, it's OK I think they can help us," said Marcy running to her friend's aid.

Veronica let go of Anne as she slumped on the ground quietly sobbing. Marcy patted her back and help her into a seated position.

"Good work, Veronica," said Scully as she made her way over to the other two women. "Anne, we need to hear what you saw, Marcy tells us that you know something else about the person that you and her saw."

Mulder helped Anne into a comfortable chair in the living room and Marcy handed her a cup of tea to help calm her.

"I haven't slept for days, I'm exhausted," she sighed.

"It's very important that you tell us everything you know, we're running out of time," said Mulder in an attempt to hurry her along.

She sighed again. "I know who is behind this," she admitted.

"Who?" Mulder said urgently. Veronica and Scully glanced at each other. None of them had expected to hear this.

"I didn't tell you because I know it can't be true," Anne continued quietly, her exhaustion was really starting to affect her.

"Tell us who you saw," urged Mulder.

"I saw Fred," Anne stated.

"Fred?" asked Scully, frowning. This case was getting more and more confusing.

"Frederick Redding?" Veronica said suddenly, remembering the photo from the yearbook.

Anne and Ed looked up at Veronica, stunned.

"Yes," whispered Anne.

"It can't be," said Ed shaking his head in denial.

"Frederick Redding, your old classmate?" asked Mulder quickly.

Anne nodded her head in confirmation as Ed continued to shake his in opposition.

"It was Fred," said Anne forcefully, directing the comment at Ed more than anyone else.

"Why couldn't it be Fred?" asked Scully.

"Fred is dead," said Ed. "I know he is; I saw his body. I carried his coffin at the funeral. I helped lower him into his grave." At this Ed's head fell into his hands again and he began rocking back and forth.

"How did Fred die?" Mulder asked Anne.

"He..." she paused. "He drowned."

Scully stood up and walked away from the group beckoning Mulder and Veronica to follow.

"He is about to have a nervous breakdown," Scully whispered, nodding in the direction of Ed. "Can you make any sense of this Mulder?"

Mulder thought for a moment. "Maybe, but I don't think you're going to like it."

Scully sighed. "You have a theory?"

"Maybe," he said again. "I think we need to confirm whether or not Frederick Redding is actually dead."

"You're not seriously considering this are you?" asked Scully.

"Scully, from what they've told us, either they are being haunted by his ghost or Fred isn't really as dead as they thought."

"A ghost?" Scully shook her head. "Mulder, these people have all had traumatic experiences. It must have been a hallucination."

Veronica listened as the argument between Mulder and Scully took place; the believer versus the sceptic. Was Mulder seriously suggesting the possibility of a haunting? Mulder's words from the night before came back to her; _ghosts, spirits, demons...they're all real_. She remembered the numerous times she had 'dreamt' of Lilly after her death, the times she had even been counselled by her. What was it she had seen the day of the bus crash that had made her miss the bus? What was it that had saved her life? _Lilly_.

Mulder and Scully had returned to the other three people in the room and were talking again. She tuned back in just in time to hear Mulder say;

"...exhume the body."


	10. Is Fred Dead?

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 10: Is Fred Dead?**

It was late morning by the time Mulder had been able to get permission to dig up the grave of Frederick Redding. He had died fourteen years ago and his death had never been considered anything but a terrible accident. A bunch of teenagers hire a house boat to celebrate graduation and one of them ends up getting drunk and falling overboard; it wasn't something that would usually draw suspicion. After all these were all local kids who the community knew and trusted; they weren't bad, just having too much fun.

Scully and Veronica now looked on as Mulder and another man dug up the earth at the grave. They used shovels; no excavator was available. Veronica read the headstone as she waited; _In Loving Memory of Frederick Michael Redding.1975 – 1993. Aged 18 years. Loving Son, Brother, Grandson, Nephew and Friend. Forever in Our Hearts._ Her thoughts returned to Lilly again. Her best friend had not lived to see her eighteen birthday. She pushed the memories from her mind and concentrated on the exhumation. This would be the second dead body she would have to look at in as many days. Mulder had been right; she had seen a dead body before, more than one actually but it didn't make it any easier. Before she could stop herself she remembered the image of Lilly, lying beside the pool at the Kane's mansion home. Amelia DeLongpre's frozen body in the ice dispenser. She shivered visibly.

"Are you alright, Veronica?" Scully asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Veronica replied simply.

At that moment they heard a dull thud as Mulder's shovel hit the top of the coffin. They took a few minutes to clear away the rest of the dirt and secured the ropes to the sides. Veronica and Scully then helped the two men heave the coffin out of the hole.

"Are they usually this heavy?" asked Veronica between breaths.

"No, now that you mention it," replied the gravedigger.

After a lot of effort they finally had it out of the grave and on the ground in front of them. Mulder bent down and pried the lid open. It opened gingerly. Veronica braced herself for the site of a half rotted corpse or skeleton.

"What the...?" exclaimed the gravedigger.

Scully frowned as she took a step closer.

Veronica looked into the coffin. _Definitely not what I expected,_ she thought.

The silk lining of the coffin was obscured by something but it was not a body. Light yellow sand filled the wooden box to almost full.

"No wonder it was so heavy," gasped Veronica.

"It looks like Fred may not be dead," said Mulder looking up at Scully, a dark smile on his face.


	11. The Full Story

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 11: The Full Story**

Once again the trio found themselves at Marcy South's front door. This time Anne answered the door and immediately let them in.

"What did you find?" she asked once everyone was present.

"We found the coffin and it wasn't empty," explained Scully. "It was full of sand."

"What?" said Anne astonished.

"What does that mean?" asked Marcy.

"We were hoping one of you could tell us that," Scully replied. "Ed?"

Ed had been very quiet since they'd arrived and he remained silent when Scully addressed him.

"Ed," said Marcy elbowing him.

"I have no idea what that could mean," he finally said, a hint of anger in his voice. "I'm more concerned about the time, it's already three o'clock." He eyed the clock on the wall which ticked threateningly, every second that passed shortening one of their lives.

It was becoming a race against time and Veronica feared that they weren't winning.

"What can you tell us about the exact nature of Fred's death?" asked Mulder trying to move the investigation along.

"He drowned! What more do you need to know?" Ed yelled at Mulder, finally cracking.

"Calm down," Scully said calmly, turning to Anne. "Is there any more you can tell us, anything would help."

Anne let out a breath and said; "Our lives are a risk now Ed, sorry but I'm going to have to them _everything_."

Mulder and Scully exchanged a look.

Veronica's eyes narrowed. _How many times are you going to tell us 'everything you know'?_ she wondered.

"We need to hear absolutely _everything_ this time," said Scully firmly.

Anne let out another breath and began her story.

"We were all in the same grade at school, we all lived in the area for our entire lives, we were lifelong friends. After graduation we thought it'd be fun to spend one last summer together. So we decided to hire a house boat. It was Tim, Brett, Ed, Brit, Debbie, Stan, Fred, and I; everyone in that photo you had. None of us really had much of an idea how to drive a boat but we only really wanted to go out far enough to not be bothered by our parents and we didn't plan on moving around too much. We thought we could handle it. It was late one night, about ten days in. We had all been drinking. The boys decided it would be funny to play a trick on Fred who had fallen asleep. They picked him up and threw him over the edge of the boat and into the sea. We all knew he could swim but he must have had more to drink than we thought." She stopped and wiped the tears from her face. Once again Ed had his head in his hands. "He wasn't asleep; he didn't wake up when he hit the water. He must've passed out. Tim and Brett jumped over the edge to help him, but it was so dark, it took them ages to find him. By the time we realised that he wasn't coming back up...it was too late. He was dead."

"Oh my..." Marcy gasped, apparently this was the first time she had heard the full story herself.

"We all vowed never to speak of it again," Anne finished.

"We need to find the others," Scully decided. "Do you know where Brittany and Stan are?"

"I haven't seen Stan since yesterday," Anne said. "And Brittany is living in Europe as far as I know. She was the one who took it the hardest. She and Fred were together. She couldn't stay here after what happened. I haven't seen her for fourteen years."

"Could you give us a moment?" Mulder asked.

Before anyone could answer he motioned for Scully and Veronica to step into the next room with him.

"I think Brittany is worth looking into," said Mulder.

"Mulder, it's four o'clock," Scully pointed out. "Do we have time for that?"

"We'll have to make time. I think we need to split up again," he replied.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Scully, could you go and see what you can find on Brittany Simmons?" He launched into his plan. "Full background check; see if you can track where she's been between ninety three and now. I know it'll be time consuming but you'll have to act as fast as possible. I think I should get these three to the police station; at least there they can be guarded. Then I'll try to find out where Stan is; he needs to be warned. I'll take Veronica with me, we'll be able to look faster with two of us."

Scully and Veronica agreed and they got to work; time was ticking.


	12. Anonymous Tip

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 12: Anonymous Tip**

Mulder glanced in his rear view mirror at the vehicle behind him. Ed, Marcy and Anne were following them to the police station where they'd wait out the night under close watch.

"Do you think they'll be safe?" asked Scully.

"I don't know, I hope so because that's about the best we can do at the moment," Mulder replied looking in the mirror again.

A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of the local police station and Scully got out of the car. She would be accompanying the other three into the building and then staying there to conduct her research into Brittany Simmons.

"Be careful," she said as she closed the door.

Mulder and Veronica then headed straight for Stan's house to check if he had returned home.

"Mr Clifford?" Mulder called after knocking on the door for several minutes. "Are you there?"

Veronica went to the window and peered inside. "I don't think anyone is home," she said. "The lights are all turned off, there's no sign of movement."

"Damn!" cursed Mulder. He thought for a moment and then said to Veronica; "You go down that way and I'll go this way; do a quick door knock and see if any of the neighbours have seen him, or anything suspicious."

Veronica nodded and immediately started for the house next door. She tried every house up and down her end of the street but no one knew anything about the whereabouts of Stan. She returned to the car before Mulder and hoped that this meant he had had more luck than her. While she was waiting for him one of the neighbours from a nearby house approached her.

"Excuse me," the neighbour said. It was a slight woman with dark hair and large worried eyes, she glanced over her shoulder.

"Yes," said Veronica.

"I heard you talking to my husband a minute ago, asking him about Stan Clifford," she mumbled quickly.

"Yes," Veronica said eagerly. "Do you have any information on where he might be?"

"Not exactly," she said. "But I do have something that may be useful."

"What is it? I'm sure any information you have would be helpful."

The woman glanced over her shoulder again. "My husband doesn't like me to associate with Stan, he thinks he's no good," she explained. "I've noticed that car there," she pointed to a red car parked opposite Stan's house. "It's been there for a couple of days and I've noticed a woman in and out of it, she was poking around Stan's place yesterday."

Veronica looked over to where the woman had pointed to the empty car and examined it for a moment. When she turned to thank her, she saw her hurrying back to her own house.

"Find anything?" Mulder called as he returned from his door knocking.

"Maybe," said Veronica taking her phone out and dialing a number. "Hi Agent Scully, it's Veronica, can you run some plates for me?"

Mulder watched her curiously as she quoted the red car's registration plates.

"Jackpot," Veronica said to Scully's reply. "We'll come and pick you up."

"What was that?" Mulder asked once she had hung up.

"It looks like we've found Brittany Simmons," Veronica replied. "Or Brittany Field as she is now known. That's her car." She pointed to the red car.

Mulder smiled, impressed by Veronica's aptitude for detective work and at the break through she had helped them make.

"I'll wait here, in case she turns up," he said. "Can you go and pick up Scully?"

"Sure," Veronica replied as he threw her the keys.


	13. In Too Deep?

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 13: In Too Deep?**

When Scully and Veronica returned they parked the car with a clear view of both the car and the house. Mulder came over and got in the back.

"What did you find Scully?" he asked immediately.

"Some interesting facts," she said pulling some pieces of paper from her bag. "First of all Brittany never went to Europe. She has lived in a town not 10 miles from here for the last fourteen years. Second, she has never been married yet she changed her name to Field four years ago. Third, following Fred's death she experienced a substantial amount of emotional trauma and spent six years in and out of various psychiatric hospitals for disorders such as severe depression, insomnia and schizophrenia. During this time she claimed to have had numerous encounters with Frederick Redding."

"That would explain the empty coffin," said Veronica.

"That's what I thought, until I read the coroner's report about his death," continued Scully. "He is definitely dead. There was a full autopsy done on his body."

Veronica frowned and Mulder considered the facts, neither one spoke.

Scully went on; "I considered the possibility that the autopsy report was faked but these were in the file with it." Scully held up some photos of a young man's eerily white body. Incisions on the chest and abdomen indicated that he could not possibly be alive.

Mulder gabbed one of the photos and took a closer look.

"I spoke to the chief of police as well," Scully continued to present her findings. "He was present at the autopsy. He confirmed that there was no question about Fred's mortality."

"But Brittany claims to have seen him?" Mulder enquired.

"Mulder, you're not still entertaining the possibility of a ghost, are you?" Scully asked in exasperation.

"Scully, what else could it be?" asked Mulder.

"You're basing your theory entirely on the say-so of a very psychological unstable woman. Plenty of people claim to see apparitions of friends and relatives after their deaths; it's just a way for the human mind to cope with emotional stress," Scully reasoned.

"I don't think that's all there is to it Scully, there are hundreds of cases like this in the X Files. Something has been killing these people," Mulder retorted.

"I think we would be more accurate in assuming that Brittany is behind these deaths. Surely you agree that she fits the profile for revenge killings."

"What about what Anne and Marcy saw? They both claimed to have seen Fred leaving the scene of the murder."

"Marcy could not identify the person she saw and Anne was probably experiencing emotional stress causing her to think she saw him."

Veronica listened to the arguments presented by both Mulder and Scully; the fantastic versus the scientific. She considered both sides. A couple of days ago she would have agreed one hundred percent with Agent Scully but now she could not decide who held the better argument. She was finding herself seriously considering something that should have seemed completely ridiculous.

They waited for about an hour for either Stan or Brittany (or Fred in Mulder's case) to show up. After a particularly dull couple of minutes Veronica looked out of the car window and noticed Stan's car pulling into his driveway.

"Hey, Mulder and Scully, look," she said suddenly, pointing at the new arrival.

They both turned to look in the direction that she was pointing.

"We have to warn him," Veronica said grabbing her door handle.

"Wait," said Scully, stopping her from getting out of the car.

They all watched on in silence as Stan got out of his car. He looked around quickly and then ducked his head back into the car.

"Is there someone else in the car?" Scully wondered aloud.

Just as she said that a woman emerged from the back of the car. She was tall and thin, with long dark brown hair. She was holding something in her hand and she walked closely behind Stan as he headed towards the front door.

"Is that a gun?" asked Veronica trying to get a better look at the object in the woman's hand.

"Looks like it is," replied Scully pulling her own out. Mulder did the same.

"What are we going to do?" asked Veronica.

"We need to wait until they're in the house but I think we should follow soon after before anything happens," said Scully. "Veronica, you should wait here, it's too dangerous."

"No way," said Veronica before she could stop herself. "I can help."

"You're not armed, it's not safe, and you aren't qualified for this sort of thing," said Scully as she got out of the car.

Veronica looked to Mulder but he just shook his head. The two agents headed towards the house. The sun was now low and it was getting darker but there was still plenty of light for Veronica to see where they were going; straight to the front door.

Veronica hesitated for a moment. _Ah, what the hell. _She got out of the car and closed the door lightly so as to not make a noise. While the two agents waited by the front door she crept around the back. She stood at the back door and pressed her ear to the old-fashioned keyhole, she could hear raised voices; aggression. There was no longer any need to be polite so she tried the doorhandle without knocking. She smiled smugly as it eased open. It was darker inside than she had expected and she found it hard to see as her eyes adjusted. She could still hear voices coming from a room closer to the front of the house.

"Please, please," whimpered Stan.

"Toughen up Stanley," a female voice spat angrily. "You deserve this."

Veronica hugged the wall and peered around the corner of a doorway. She could see Stan on the ground shielding himself with his hands and still snivelling. The woman stood over him with the gun pointed directly at him. The curtains were all drawn.

_Where the hell are Mulder and Scully?_ Veronica thought desperately as she swung around and flattened herself against the wall; now blind to the scene in the next room.

Suddenly Stan screamed and the woman laughed madly. "What's the matter Stan, you look like you've seen a ghost."

Veronica looked back around the corner and her eyes widened in amazement. A third person was now in the room, standing alongside the woman. He turned his head slightly and Veronica got a better look at him. She let out a little gasp before she could stop herself. The woman turned quickly to see Veronica standing in the doorway, frozen to the spot. Veronica was staring into the faces of Frederick Redding and Brittany Simmons.


	14. Visit From A Ghost

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 14: Visit from a Ghost**

Fred looked not a day older than the photo in the yearbook but there was something strange about his skin, a bizarre shine to it that Veronica could not account for. Brittany looked like she'd aged the fourteen years since her senior year of high school and like those fourteen years had been hard on her. She was quite a bit thinner with gaunt white skin and dark shadows beneath her eyes; she looked much more like a ghost than Fred.

_A ghost? _Veronica thought suddenly. Fred was definitely no ghost. While she and Brittany had stood staring at each other in surprise Fred had reached down and had his hands around Stan's throat. There was no time to wait for Mulder and Scully to get in, who she could now hear banging on the front door. If she didn't act now, Stan would surely die. It was a split second decision but Veronica figured it was her only option. She ran at Brittany who had let down her guard in her shock, the gun was held loosely in her right hand, pointing at the ground. Veronica collided with her before she could lift the gun up; it went flying from her hand as the two hit the ground hard, Brittany knocking her head on a coffee table on the way down. She was out cold and the gun was nowhere to be seen; it was too dark inside the house and Stan didn't appear to be the best of housekeepers.

"Help...me..." Stan gasped and Veronica turned around to see Fred holding him up by the throat. His feet were not touching the ground any more.

Veronica could feel the adrenaline pumping through her. She couldn't think straight. The fear was taking hold of her. _Calm down!_ She told herself.

Fred was still holding Stan up in the air and now something else was happening. Clear liquid was pouring from Stan's mouth and he was coughing, struggling to breathe. Veronica watched in terrified bewilderment as he finally stopped coughing and went limp; the clear liquid still pouring from his mouth. Fred dropped the body and turned towards Veronica. She tried to run away but she tripped over Brittany who was still unconscious on the floor. She tried desperately to get to her feet but a cold, slippery hand stopped her. Fred pushed her to the floor and she spun around onto her back to face him. He was reaching for her throat and she knew what was coming. In her confusion she grabbed wildly at her bag that was still slung across her shoulder.

"Veronica!" she heard Mulder's voice but she had no idea where he was.

Veronica's hand was in her bag and it finally wrapped around the object she had been searching for. The wet hands of Fred were closing around her throat now and she heard Mulder yelling at him to stop. Without hesitation she pulled her taser from her bag and plunged it into the side of Fred's neck. He screamed in agony as the volts of electricity passed through him.

Mulder had stopped yelling and watched on, still holding his gun in his hands that he had been seconds from firing. Fred's body was lit up like a Christmas tree; electricity visibly coursing into his body. Then, as suddenly as Veronica had hit him with the taser, he began to change shape.

It was as if he was melting, first his face slid from his head and Veronica recoiled as much as she could. She felt the weight of his body disappear and then all at once his body turned to water and fell on Veronica, drenching her in cold, salty water.

Scully finally came running into the room, her gun at the ready. Veronica was lying on her back on the floor, soaking wet and breathing fast. Mulder stood by, his mouth hanging open at the scene he had just witnessed. Brittany was still splayed on the floor near Veronica. Stan's dead body lay slumped on the floor where he had fallen.

"What happened?" she asked, lowering her gun. "Veronica, what are you doing here?"

Veronica was getting to her feet, Mulder and Scully hurried to her aid.

"Mulder?" Scully asked.

None of them had noticed Brittany getting to her feet. She held her head and looked around the floor for her gun. Locating it she picked it up and turn towards them.

"You..." she said venomously raising the gun and heading straight across the room towards Veronica.

"Get down!" Scully yelled pushing Veronica back to the ground and firing her gun three times.

Brittany stopped dead in her tracks. She fell to her knees as blood dripped from her mouth and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Three bullet wounds marked her chest. She gave them one last look before closing her eyes and falling forward to the floor.


	15. Case Closed

**The V Files: Strange Start to Summer**

**Chapter 15: Case Closed**

"I shoulda known I'd get landed with the paperwork," said Veronica theatrically. "Give all the dog end jobs to the intern."

Mulder and Scully chuckled.

"Well you did witness the most out of us three," reasoned Scully smiling, with only a hint of disapproval in her tone.

Veronica returned the smile of the two agents and then returned to her report. _So Veronica what are you going to write? That you were attacked by a dead man who miraculously melted when you hit him with your illegal taser?_

What was she really going to write? Mulder and Scully had both encouraged her to write what she'd seen and what she knew. The only problem with that was that she didn't know what she'd seen. It all seemed like a vivid nightmare now. No one she'd tasered before had melted like that, or at least not that she knew of, but then again all the other victims of her taser had been _alive_. So, heeding the advice of her mentors Veronica began to type...everything.

* * *

"I trust you've reviewed this report, Agent Scully?"

Assistant Director Skinner was sitting behind his desk in his large office. Veronica, Mulder and Scully sat in comfortable chairs on the opposite side of the desk, facing him. Mulder looked slightly bored and Veronica was starting to regret what she'd written in her report.

"Of course, Sir," replied Scully nodding.

Skinner looked at the three of them for a moment and then exhaled.

"So you're trying to tell me that the murderer was a ghost?" he finally said.

"Not a ghost, Sir," Mulder replied before Scully could open her mouth. "A reanimated body...like a zombie."

Skinner looked at Mulder incredulously and then turned to Scully.

"I understand this coming from Agent Mulder but Agent Scully is this really what you think?" he asked.

"I can't say exactly, Sir," replied Scully. "I wasn't present for the majority of the events that took place in Stanley Clifford's residence. Scientifically Agent Mulder's theory seems impossible. I would be more inclined to think that Mr Redding somehow faked his death and killed his victims out of revenge. Although I can't explain the reaction that his body had to the taser."

"I think that Brittany Simmons was using magic," stated Mulder before anyone else could speak. "Black magic."

"Magic? And your basis for this?" Skinner was beginning to get exasperated. Something that Veronica suspected happened a lot whenever Agent Mulder was around.

"This," said Mulder holding up a tattered, black book.

Skinner raised his eyebrows. Scully and Veronica stared; this was the first they'd heard of Mulder's theory.

"I found this in her car," Mulder continued. "It's a magic book, full of spells and rituals. One of which details how to raise the dead. I think she may have used this to bring her dead boyfriend back to life and kill the people who were responsible for his death. I think that Brittany was a witch."

Veronica sat back in her chair and listened to Mulder's words. What was he talking about? A witch? This all seemed so ridiculous even for him but when Veronica really thought about it, it was the most logical explanation.

"As both of our prime suspects were killed during another murder, Sir, I think it's safe for us to close this case," Scully was saying to Skinner who merely nodded.

He dismissed the three of them from his office.

* * *

"Hi, Honey," Keith Mars answered his phone on the first ring. "How was your first week at the Bureau?"

"Very...interesting," replied Veronica mysteriously.

"What could be so interesting about the coffee run?" teased her father.

"I'd tell you but you'd never believe me."

* * *

**AN: So there you have it. Thank you to all my readers. I really hope you enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what your thoughts are.**


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